I'm writing this one from sunny Florida where I'm on an annual trip to visit my parents and get a break from the (usually...) cold NY winters.
Here's last year's post, 10 Lessons Learned on a Family Trip to Florida!
Being on a vacation and getting space from the busyness (that is both inherent and self-induced) of modern life, always reminds me how important it is to slow down.
When I step away from the often chaotic days I'm so used to, I get a new perspective. I get to see myself, my family, and this beautiful life from a different vantage point.
I get to notice and appreciate the little things like:
Having an 11 year old daughter who will still hold my hand and tell me about her life as we walk down the beach together
How good it feels to belly laugh with friends
Seeing those adorable little baby beach birds running in and out of the water - you know the ones from the beginning of Moana?? Yes, those ones :)
Watching my kids with my parents and witnessing pure love, joy, and magic in 6 sets of eyes
Traveling alone with 4 kids and a dog.... and it working out completely fine
Walking in from breakfast to a clean room
Witnessing my child knock over a full milkshake in the lobby of the hotel as we check in... and not losing my cool. The Frosts are here!
Appreciating all those times I took my once pain-free ankle for granted - like when you have a stuffy nose and you reminisce back to all those times you didn't have a stuffy nose and how much you wish you had appreciated it more because having a stuffy nose is the pits
Sitting at a table with several people who have sadly lost a parent or dealing with one who is not well, and breathing in a deep sigh of gratitude that mine are both here and I get to talk with them, and argue with them, and watch them smile, and wish good things for them, and play cards with the oldies blasting in the background, and laugh together at the same stories we've told a thousand times. My good fortune in this department is beyond measure.
White wine spritzers on a Tuesday afternoon
Walking down the beach in a bathing suit and focusing on the important task of seashell collecting, rather than worrying about how my butt looks in this bathing suit
Finishing up the first Life... On Purpose group meetings and marveling at how far these women have come in just 15 weeks
Slowing down and actually enjoying my life instead of my usual "let me just finish this one thing and then I'll...."
PS! You don't need to go on vacation to slow down. You get to create moments like this in your every day life. We're often just rushing through the day on autopilot, so we don't notice them.
You see what you look for... So do yourself a favor, and look for something good.
Close your eyes and take 3 slow steady breaths.
Think of something to be grateful for
Get super specific! Delicious cappuccino with the heart drawn on it, the kindness of the cashier even though you were distracted and texting when you should have been paying, sleeping in and waking up feeling refreshed and calm, rather than anxious and already behind the day somehow
Enjoy the feeling this thing/person/experience brings to you
Then go out into the world and do something kind for someone else - and watch the beauty of gratitude and appreciation multiply your own happiness
Have a beautifully slow week friends.
Carolyn
xx
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PS!! We'll talk about this and much more in my upcoming program Life... On Purpose!
It's a 15-week women's group coaching program designed to help you create awareness and MAJOR growth so you can finally live a life that inspires you.
Click HERE for more information and to get on the waitlist.
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